Master of Arts in Counseling

Offered in Hickory, Asheville And Columbia

The LRU Master of Arts degree in Counseling is designed to prepare individuals for positions as professional counselors in agencies and/or school settings. Students have the opportunity to take courses on the LRU main campus in Hickory or the Center for Graduate Studies of Asheville. The curriculum at both sites is identical and students will have the opportunity to interact with the LRU faculty at both locations. The counseling program places primary emphasis on the development of strong clinical skills. Upon receiving the Master of Arts degree in counseling, students will meet course work requirements for eligibility to take the examination to become a National Board Certified Counselor (NCC) and Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of North Carolina. Students satisfactorily completing the School Counseling program requirements and receiving a passing score on the PRAXIS specialty examination will be eligible for licensure as a school counselor in North Carolina.

The master’s degree is the entry-level degree for persons entering the counseling field. The counseling course of study is designed to begin during the Fall semester. Although students are allowed to enter the program in the Spring or Summer semesters, course selection will be limited due to prerequisite courses that have been missed and will not be available until the Fall semester.

All students in the Counseling program must have in effect counselor liability insurance through the American Counseling Association Insurance Trust during the time they are enrolled in the Counseling program. In addition, students are required to purchase and maintain a subscription to Taskstream, the Counseling portfolio management system. A field experience fee of $125 is charged for each of the following core courses in addition to the practicum and internship experiences: COU 580 , COU 585 , COU 590 , COU 591 , COU 592 , COU 593 . Additional fees may be required for testing supplies and recording equipment in the following courses: COU 524 , COU 530 , COU 545  and COU 566 . Any counseling practicum/intern receiving a grade lower than a ‘B’ in a practicum/internship will not be recommended for state licensure or National Board Certification.

Mission Statement

The faculty of the Counselor Education Program is dedicated to educating and training counselor education professionals to function in culturally diverse settings. Lenoir-Rhyne University is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and has a large urban population; yet, we also serve suburban and rural communities. From this unique vantage point, we recognize the need to address the economic, educational, and social inequalities that prevail in our community. The program acknowledges a commitment both to the students who will pursue preparation as professional counselors and to the larger public served by our graduates, for whom we all share a responsibility. It is due to this commitment that the faculty holds high standards in the process of training professional counselors. As a result, we expect our students to develop a commitment to service to others, and to the pursuit of excellence in the counseling profession.

The programs are designed to provide a challenging, yet supportive environment that promotes professional orientation, development of a counseling identity, practice, commitment to inquiry, and self-awareness. Graduate education in the Counselor Education program is designed to help students realize their potential as practicing counselor and administrators, engage in professional relationships, and develop a set of meaningful professional values. To this end, the program reflects current knowledge from lay and professional groups concerning current and projected counseling and human development needs of a pluralistic society. Cultural considerations are emphasized so that the experiences provided will be rewarded and useful in today’s ever-changing society.

The faculty is dedicated to the recruitment, retention, education, and training of diverse counseling professionals. The faculty select, encourage, and retain students in the counselor education specialties who exhibit the potential to become competent counselors and administrators. In order to prepare competent practitioners, the faculty, through a program of planned educational experiences, attempts to assist our students in becoming knowledgeable, ethical, collegial and self-actualizing agents of change. The Counselor Education Program is based on the model that effective counselor must be more than technicians. Rather, they must be professionals who are aware of their personal values, beliefs, and biases, as well as possess vast knowledge and skills related to the profession of counseling. They must be able to analyze, synthesize, and apply their knowledge and skills, utilize research for professional judgments, and assess the effectiveness of their work in order to function as competent, ethical, reflective, practitioner-scientists. The Counselor Education Program seeks to develop such professionals through active learning experiences, course work that covers a variety of content areas, and integrated field experiences that provide counseling services to a wide range of clients/students. Multicultural and diversity issues are integrated throughout the program.

Candidacy Admission Requirements

Students who meet the minimum standards for admission to the program may be permitted to commence graduate studies in counseling. All students enrolled in the program will undergo a review process that will include both academic and dispositional factors. Specifically, review is scheduled as follows:

• 9 hours completed: First review with recommendations to progress, continue with remediation, or dismiss. If the student meets the program academic and dispositional expectations, they will be required to submit an application for candidacy to specific degree program. Once applications have been reviewed, the candidate may be required to attend an interview for candidacy. At this point faculty make recommendations for acceptance to candidacy, remediation plan or dismissal. Ongoing review for academic, professional and interpersonal development. Students must maintain a cumulative B average. If a student receives a grade of ‘C’ or lower in any course they will be required to repeat the course. A grade of ‘F’ will result in academic probation or dismissal. The student should review the Graduate School Academic Policies and dispositional criteria. If a faculty is concerned about a student’s progress within the program an official review to include a remediation plan and/or dismissal from the program could be applied.
• Review prior to practicum and internship with recommendation to progress with the internship or dismiss. All internships must be initiated within one year from the last course taken.

Comprehensive Examination

Students are required to pass a two-part comprehensive examination. First, students must complete a nationally standardized exam (CPCE) that measures competency across the eight core areas of counseling. Students must pass this examination prior to internship. Students who fail this examination may be required to do remediation, additional coursework and/or assignments, and re-test. Students who fail subsequent re-tests may be dismissed from the program. The second part of the examination (Specialty Capstone Project) requires a written, comprehensive assessment of the specific program of study. This capstone project is completed during internship. Students who fail this assessment will not be permitted to graduate.

Conceptual Framework

The Counselor Education Program is based on the model that effective counselors must be more than technicians. Rather, they must be professionals who are aware of their personal values, beliefs, and biases, as well as possess vast knowledge and skills related to the profession of counseling. They must be able to analyze, synthesize, and apply their knowledge and skills, utilize research for professional judgments, and assess the effectiveness of their work in order to function as competent, ethical, reflective, practitioner-scientists. The Counselor Education Program seeks to develop such professionals through active learning experiences, course work that covers a variety of content areas, and integrated field experiences that provide counseling services to a wide range of clients/students. Multicultural and diversity issues are integrated throughout the program. Becoming a reflective practitioner-scientist involves an on-going process that can be conceptualized as a pyramid with students’ personal and professional knowledge as base. From this knowledge base, students move into the stage of skills acquisitions with the final stage being that of reflective practitioner-scientist. Persons completing the Counseling Program are Reflective Practitioner-Scientists who demonstrate:

1. A high level of interpersonal communication skills, along with an appreciation for the racial and socio-cultural diversity of the populations with whom they will work;
2. A thorough knowledge of counseling theory and skill in a variety of counseling techniques that are useful with individuals and groups;
3. Skill in utilizing assessment techniques, research techniques, and career planning materials and techniques;
4. An understanding of the variety of activities involved in implementing programs in public school and community/agency settings-including treatment planning, diagnosis, consultation, program planning and coordination, group guidance and counseling, crisis intervention, drop-out prevention, and educational placement of exceptional individuals;
5. An understanding of the legal aspects of service delivery and an appreciation of the importance of practicing in accordance with the highest ethical standards of the counseling profession;
6. Self-knowledge related to therapeutic processes;
7. The ability to analyze and evaluate the effects of the therapeutic process;
8. A devotion to the improvement of, and subsequent changes in, counseling practice as determined through research and scientific inquiry;
9. Dispositional characteristics consistent with the professional body of literature.

Admission Requirements

Candidates for admission to the Master of Arts in Counseling program must meet the following criteria:

1. Submit official transcripts from all colleges attended demonstrating successful or pending completion of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution. Minimum cumulative GPA is a 2.7;
2. Submit an official copy of either the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) or the GRE (unless Career Admission Track applies). Minimum MAT score is a 390; minimum GRE scores are Verbal 147, Quantitative 147, and Analytical Writing 3.5;
3. If Career Admission Track applies, or if the applicant meets one of the other criteria for waiving the standardized test score, submit one letter of professional recommendation through the online application;
4. Submit a writing sample clearly articulating goals and life experiences that have impacted the student’s decision to pursue a graduate degree in Counseling;
5. Submit a CV or Resume;
6. Be available for an interview upon request.
7. The admissions committee determines admissions decisions based on the whole application and reserves the right to admit, provisionally admit, waitlist, or deny applicants on this policy.
8. Qualified applicants initially will be admitted into The Graduate School, and, after successful completion of COU 505 , COU 525 , and COU 530 , they will apply for candidacy into the Master of Arts in Counseling program.